This invention relates to magnetic head/arm assemblies, and particularly to block receivers for supporting magnetic head/arm assemblies to the movable or actuator arms of magnetic disc drives.
Magnetic disc drives include a movable arm supporting one or more magnetic head/arm assemblies and arranged to move the head/arm assemblies between radial positions to read and/or write data to and from various tracks of a rotating disc media. The data may comprise digital information, including clock or servo information. A head/arm assembly usually includes a magnetic transducing head fixed to a gimbal spring, which in turn is fixed to a flex arm, which in turn is fixed to a rigid arm. The movable or actuator arm assembly of the disc drive includes a receiver block fixed to the movable arm and arranged to receive the head/arm assembly. The arrangement is such as to move the head radially adjacent the disc surface with linear or rotational movement of the movable arm.
The receiver block on the movable arm usually includes adjustment screws to adjust the position of the fixed arm of the head/arm assembly, and thus align the magnetic head in respect of the movable arm. In the past, it has been necessary to realign and readjust the head position when replacing or changing the head/arm assembly. Consequently, each time a head has been removed for cleaning purposes and the like, it was necessary to realign the head upon reassembly to the movable arm. This was time consuming and led to alignment errors. Thus, prior disc drives provided no effective way to self-align the head upon reassembly to the movable arm.
Magnetic heads are arranged to "fly" above the disc surface while the disc is rotating. Particularly, the flex arm urges the head toward the disc. The aerodynamic characteristics of the head and its associated slider, together with the gimbal support, cause the head to fly as the disc rotates. When disc rotation halts, the head "lands" onto the disc surface. Some disc drives provide a mechanical lock mechanism to physically lift and lock the head from the disc surface when the head is in a rest position. Such lock mechanisms are useful for arresting head movement to prevent damage to the head during storage or shipment of the drive, or when the head is removed for cleaning and/or replacement. Prior lock mechanisms were mounted to the disc drive chassis and arranged to engage the head/arm assembly (such as the flex arm) when the head was at a rest position, such as at an outside track of the disc. The head could be physically lifted from the nonrotating media only when the head was at its assigned rest position, such as at the outside track. Prior drives had no effective mechanism to remove and/or lock the head when in any position relative to the disc.